In persons with brain injury, the amount of outside assistance a person needs to carry out essential functions in everyday life is formally known as acuity. The caregiver effort required during rehabilitation encompasses both the demands for caregiving needs and protective supervision.

To quantify this dimension of care, experts at Hope Network Neuro Rehabilitation designed the Hope Network Acuity Scale© (HAS), a behavioral rating scale that identifies care workload relating to the support and supervision of adults with brain injury.

The HAS was developed and validated in a post-acute transitional residential supervised residence, a specialized neurobehavioral program, and in a community-supported living residence program. The 24- point tool is equally divided between medical acuity – care required for the treatment of medical conditions, and neurobehavioral acuity – care associated with managing behaviors commonly observed with brain injury.

After conducting a study of 240 participants, evidence suggests the HAS displays sound psychometric properties that offer potential clinical utility for staffing, supervision, and placement decisions. “If the HAS continues to show evidence of its ability to successfully measure time demands and workload of caregivers, it has the potential to improve clinical communication and resource allocation throughout the brain injury community,” stated Dr. Martin Waalkes, ABPP(rp), CBIS-T, Licensed Psychologist and Director of Neuro Rehabilitation at Hope Network.

The HAS is appropriate to use with adults 18 years and older in care settings where supervision or structured check-in care support is provided and should be completed by a professional familiar with the full range of care needs required, and with direct experience observing and supporting behavior adjustment.

With the scale’s reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change confirmed, Hope Network introduced the HAS to industry experts earlier this year, and is sharing the tool with other brain injury professionals via presentations at several conferences throughout the U.S.

To learn more about the HAS visit: https://hopenetwork.org/neuro-rehab/hope-network-acuity-scale/.